In recent years, Federal Agencies, specifically, OSHA, have developed Blood Borne Pathogen Regulations for the workplace (see, e.g., 29 CFR). Furthermore, the Department of Transportation has developed strict packaging standards for the safe transport of infectious material (see, e.g., 49 CFR). According to definitions included in these regulations, all used needles and sharps must be treated as infectious materials.
The packaging requirements for an infectious material Package is that it be a dual container system. One package must be capable of withstanding an internal pressure of 95 KPA (13.7 pounds) for thirty minutes, and the second package must be leak tight and capable of passing 30 KPA (4 pounds). This package must withstand drop tests of approximately thirty feet, if the inside of the container is plastic, it must be preconditioned for twenty-four hours at 0.degree. F. and then dropped, and the overall package must be submerged in water for five minutes and dropped. In addition, there is a penetration test using a sharp steel rod weighing fifteen pounds that drops in free fall on two orientations of the final package. The Infectious Package must pass all of these tests.
In addition to the transportation problems, there is a problem of handling packages while they are being used and the most common failure of existing packages is inadvertent needle sticks from needles protruding through some portion of the package.
The art contains many examples of packages that can be used to transport various types of waste. However, many of these packages are designed for on-site disposal of sharps, and are incapable of passing the required tests for transporting off site and many of these known packages are made of plastic or fiberboard material which makes them eligible for the inadvertent pin stick while being used. While the art also includes other containers for packaging hazardous materials, such containers are not suitable for sharps.
Therefore, there is a need for a medical waste disposal system that is safe and meets all of the current regulations for transporting the package to its final disposal site.
Still further, many Federal and State Agencies have strict requirements regarding waste and the degradability thereof. Therefore, in addition to meeting the above-discussed regulations, a medical waste disposal system must also meet environmental regulations as well. Accordingly, there is a need for a medical waste disposal system that meets regulations associated with medical waste as well as environmental standards. Heretofore, the systems known to the inventors have not been able to satisfy all of these requirements.
Many known containers are made of metal. Metal can be expensive, and difficult to form and manufacture in a cost-effective manner. Due to this problem, variations in design may be difficult and not undertaken. Accordingly, there is a need for a medical waste disposal system that can be manufactured in a cost-effective manner, and can be altered as necessary without incurring undue costs.